Hunters in the TARDIS
by superwhosaur
Summary: Sam and Dean find out they aren't the only ones who save the world for a living.


"Vampires don't just rip out their victims' hearts and leave creepy little heart-shaped holes behind, Sam. Not a chance."

"Then what are we looking at here? I mean it's not the first time we've run across a monster that's used a different MO before. Just saying. "

"I don't know, man. What do I look like to you? No, you know what-don't answer that. I'm gonna go get Cas. You… just stay here."

The hunter wearing a worn leather jacket stared up peevishly at his oversized little brother before grumbling and turning on his heel to walk away. Sam pursed his lips, rolling his eyes at his cranky older brother. Sometimes he swore he was more crotchety than Bobby was. He bobbed his head and chuckled under his breath at the thought, gazing around to see his surroundings better. They had been walking through a park, which meant lots of trees and more plants and really nothing else that he cared to notice. Except… wait, that wasn't right. There was a blue police box on the sidewalk that wasn't there a few minutes ago. He could've sworn anyway. Maybe he was still seeing things. Strange. His brow furrowed, stepping closer to get a better look. The blue box was in pristine condition considering he knew there hadn't been one in commission for decades. Not to mention they were only used in England. Also strange. He stooped his towering frame down to read the sign on the front panel stating the use of the box, supporting himself against the wood frame. Also very real. He jumped back in a rush when the door creaked open, a middle age man wearing a bowtie and tweed jacket stepping out into the sunlight. There was an awkward silence and the man had to raise his eyes to figure out where Sam's head was.

"Oh. Yes. Right. Where are my manners. Hello! I'm the Doctor!"

Sam crossed his arms, suspicious of the man who called himself _the Doctor_ and happened to just casually exit a phone box that wasn't even there five minutes ago. A decommissioned phone box, no less. He cleared his throat.

"The Doctor. Doctor _who_?." Dimples pressed in with the confusion that set in on Sam's face.

"Just the Doctor. Nothing comes after. Though it never gets old, that question… "

Sam stared down at the fast talking British man, unmoved. He never trusted someone that avoided questions. Mainly, because he was one of them. The man slipped back through the door momentarily, shielding the inside from Sam's sight, coming back with an atlas map from what looked like a convenience store. He startled Sam at his return, wearing a well-worn mischievous smile.

"Eh, sorry. Do you have a name?"

"Sam."

"Good! Sam. I like Sam. So tell me, where is here?"

"What? Um, Oklahoma City."

"Oh. Oh! America? Marvelous, even better! …where did you say this was?

Sam shook his head like he was seeing double and returned the question unanswered. He was more interested in finding out how this blue box and this strange man that talked too fast appeared and most of all, how he hadn't the faintest idea where he was.

"Hold up, Doctor. How did you and your… box just magically appear out of nowhere? I've seen a lot of weird things but this? Yeah, this trumps all of them."

"Oy! First of all she's not just _a_ _box_. And second… well second… that is a very good question. You can see it which means… no, no, no, I double checked the perception filter. Hm, but wait… impossible! Ooooh!"

The Doctor jabbed his finger into Sam's chest, smelling and tugging at limbs and ears and poking some more. Sam shooed the Doctor's prodding fingers away with slapping waves of his hands. He pulled out his sonic and waved it up and down, squinting at the ultra violet readings.

"Stop it! You're insane! What are you doing?"

"Interesting. Yep, very interesting indeed! Sam, does it seem like the blue box is there but not really there or is it really, really there?"

"Not sure I'm following."

"Right. Sorry. When looking at the TARDIS, does it seem fuzzy or clear to you?"

"Uh, it's as clear as you or me. I'm sorry, the what?"

"TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Like… like a spaceship?"

"No. Well yes. Well not exactly. She's better than a spaceship. Think spaceship but good-er. Good-est. That's not a word is it? Right. Never saying that again."

This extremely large man named Sam was a mystery to Doctor. And oh, did he like mysteries. There was a reason Sam could see the TARDIS and he intended very much so on finding out. He didn't know why he was telling him all of this either. About his TARDIS. Usually he was more careful than this but he just couldn't help himself. And it was something he couldn't put his finger on. But why? How could this man see his ship without ever laying eyes on it before? Unless he had. No, that was rubbish thought. The Doctor already knew he'd never seen it before. He was curious about this man. And he was wishing Clara was with him. The impossible girl who always knew what to say. Such a clever one, she was. Sometimes so clever it infuriated him, but then she always looked rather nice with her skirts and dresses that were just a little bit too short. What? No, stop that. He wanted to slap himself in front of Sam but resisted the urge. He realized Sam glanced away from the Doctor long enough for him to see where his eyes had wandered off to. Two men were walking toward him, one looked like a brother and the other, well, he wasn't sure of. Somehow he seemed familiar in some way or another.

"Ah! Uh. Right. Weren't we just in the middle of you telling me where exactly Oklahoma City is?"

"Yeah, sure. It's a city…. in Oklahoma… or do I need to tell you where that is too?"

"Ah nope, I think I've got it from here thanks!"

The Doctor cringed when a voice broke from behind just as he was trying slip out the side away from the prying human and his TARDIS. More people meant more questions which meant… bad, very bad.

"What's going on, Sammy? Who is this? And what… what the hell is that?"

The taller of the two was the one who spoke and also the one that was presumably the brother. Yes, confirmed. Sam didn't seem like the type to be called Sammy and just let go so easily. This was brilliant! But who was the one in the trench coat? He always found himself giving into new adventures. Maybe these people weren't so bad. And anyhow these strangers were just as confused and skeptical as he was. Although maybe a bit more for them considering a mysterious blue box materialized out of the sky. Ah, yes. Lovely. Sam was warming up to him enough to introduce his big brother Dean and friend Castiel. Oh. Oh my.

"Castiel? Hang on. As in _Angel of the Lord_ Castiel?"

The dark haired man in the trench coat stepped forward, a smile widening on his face.

"It's been a while, Doctor. You're looking young for your old age."

"I could say the same for you, Castiel. I like the new vessel, he's rather dashing." The Doctor winked.

Sam and Dean looked at each other then back to Cas and the Doctor who were hugging and slapping each other's backs and laughing like they were old friends. Dean stiffened at the sudden embrace, still distrusting of the man with the big hair and bowtie.

"Someone care to fill us in on what the hell is going on here?" Dean growled impatiently.

"Oh, I've known this stiff old chap since we, well me, were in our teens. What has it been, some 600 years or so? Give or take I think."

Cas gave the Doctor a menacing sneer, slapping him upside the head.

"That's not what he meant. And I know what you're going to say but you won't get very far trying to explain so you might as well show them. They're uncanny kind of hunters and they've seen just about everything. I think they can handle it."

"Hey! Watch it! Um, handle what exactly?"

Dean shot Cas a dirty look at his implication but resigned quickly when Cas smiled at him, patting him on the back. Sam was anxious to finally see what the TARDIS actually was. Though he wasn't sure what to expect considering it was just a square blue box with a telephone and some fancy writing. Then again, only three years ago there were no such things as angels. And how much more could really shock him and his brother anymore? It's not like they lived normal lives to begin with. A snap of the Doctor's fingers was all it took for the TARDIS doors to swing open, exposing something much more different than Sam expected to find. He'd even forgotten how disgusted he was that the Doctor could open doors with a snap of his fingers. It was like an entire world inside that nobody could see but them. Dean's jaw hung agape as he spun around in circles, bumping awkwardly into Sam's backside. Sam stole a glimpse of the outside again to make sure it was still a phone box. This was… this was impossible. The Doctor leapt up the stairs to the platform that surrounded the control room towards the console glowing an iridescent aqua that coerced from the ceiling to below the deck almost like it was pulsing and alive. He turned back to the Doctor, who smiled sheepishly, like a child showing off their favorite toy.

"Go ahead. Say it. 'It's bigger on the inside'. Heh, I just love it when people say that."

"So how exactly does this work?"

Sam and Dean slowly found their way to the platform to where Cas was standing, still trying to process everything they were seeing. Doctor pushed himself off the railing he was leaning on and clapped his hands.

"Why don't I show you instead?"

The brothers watched as the Doctor whirled around in circles like a mad man, pulling levers, pushing buttons, and then came the vworrrp, vworrrp, vworrrp of the TARDIS materializing. Sam looked excitedly at Dean who was clinging to the railing, terror breaking through on his face at the sudden realization that they weren't on the ground anymore. The last time they'd been on a plane it crashed and Dean swore he would never fly again and here they were, flying who knows where. Castiel gripped Dean's shoulder in efforts to calm him down from his panic, not being of much help when he tried to explain how they were essentially free falling through a time vortex. The TARDIS went quiet with a whoosh and the Doctor popped his head out around the other side of the console.

"Well? Take a look, would you!"

Dean grabbed Sam and walked to the door hoping there would be solid ground on the outside. He slowly opened it only to promptly slam it closed, breathing heavily with his forehead pressed against the door.

"I… uhhh… we're in space, okay. I can be okay with this. No! I am so not okay with this. Cas take me back now! Please."

"But Dean, you can't actually fall out of the TARDIS and drift away. It's safe to look, I swear."

Cas tried to explain the best he could without laughing or scaring Dean more. But the more Sam snickered, the more Cas had to bite his tongue. Sam had to give him kudos though for trying. He thought his brother would be more excited about spaceships in deep space, seeing as he was the only Trekkie in the family. The sight was mesmerizing and hard to look away from. Sam had never seen anything like it. A black hole where a galaxy used to exist was surrounded by the brightest blue he'd ever seen, swirling in an outline of purple and silver with glints of gold streaked throughout. The Doctor said they were looking at Tiberian spiral galaxy, at least what was left of it.

"You're kind thousands of years in the future built a magnificent empire from the ground up and they destroyed it all just to stop the Cybermen. A hundred million planets and solar systems. Trillions of people. Gone. Sacrificed for the sake of all other life forms in the universe."

"I don't know what Cybermen are but they sound like nasty sons of bitches. Wait, did you say in the future? Like we're in the future?"

Dean blew out all the air he had in his lungs when the Doctor nodded at him. Sam spun around at the mention, exchanging looks between the smug Doctor and his woozy brother. Sam went over to Dean and braced an arm around his shoulders.

"You know, Cas is right. You gotta to see this, it's beautiful. Just a quick look. You know you want to."

Sam led Dean over to the door, still keeping a strong arm around him just in case. Dean's eyes lit up at the view, unable to take his eyes off. He stared longer than just a quick look before remembering he was hanging his head out of a phone box that was actually a spaceship that was also a time machine. And they were in space. In the future. Dean wobbled back to the platform and grabbed ahold of Cas who winced.

"Ok, that was awesome. But can we go back now? Preferably before my heart beats out of my chest like our case."

"Of course. But Dean, you're sitting on my wing.

Dean leapt back and looked Cas up and down, flustered that he couldn't see them.

"Sorry, man. I didn't realize… So, Doc. What's it gonna be?"

"What do you think, old girl? Let's get these space slickers back to Earth, eh?"

The Doctor pulled the lever and back came the sound he loved so dearly that most times ended with a whoosh. To him, it was the sound of home and adventure. His TARDIS always took him where he needed to go. More or less. He watched Dean's tensed frame relax hoping something fierce that he was on land again. It reminded him of all his companions that shared the same space and it made his hearts ache. He'd been finding himself pushing away a lot of those thoughts lately. It was something new but old all at the same time. Yet, here were two men who seemed to evade death more than he, according to Castiel. And the amount of death they have seen or caused was surely as weighted as his own. But they were still willing to give their lives to save innocent people and that gave him hope. Humans always gave the Doctor hope. And that was most definitely a thing worth fighting for. Sam strode over to the Doctor and propped himself against the railing next to him.

"One more question. What was that weird glowey pen you pulled out, that made the horrible noise?"

The Doctor pulled the sonic from his pocket and flicked it on, smirking at the brilliant complexity of the small device. He flipped it in his hand and passed it over to Sam.

"It's a sonic screwdriver and I quite like the sound, thank you very much. It's handy for most things. Except against wood. And deadbolts. I really need to fix that. It's got a psychic interface so you can basically point it at anything and think what you want it to do. Sam flicked the sonic, the green glow appearing with the humming noise.

"So you just think what you want it to do and it does it."

"Mhm. Well most of the time. Okay, some of the time. But it won't harm or kill anything directly so at least we're good there.

Cas had pulled Dean around to where Sam and the Doctor were and interjected, a serious look on his face.

"What are you talking about? I've seen you eradicate entire species with that thing. Sam, give it back before you hurt someone."

"Oy! Don't listen to him. Gimme your phone. From now on, you will be able to get internet and cell reception where ever you go."

The Doctor handed back Sam's phone to which he inspected. He didn't want to admit it, but he was growing quite attached to his line of communication. Angry Birds might have had something to do with it. He was finally just getting good at it too. The thought of having Wi-Fi and reception anywhere thrilled him. The Doctor shuffled everyone out of the futuristic looking phone box and shut the door behind him.

"Ah yes, so it turns out the TARDIS took me to a place I didn't need to go after all. Looks like you boys have the mystery out there in Oklahoma under control. Sam, Dean, it was a pleasure! And Castiel, old friend… you know how to find me."

The Doctor smiled at the three, making an awkward salute before turning back into the TARDIS, patting the paneling on the way in. Sam looked at Dean, eyebrows raised in astonishment. They were just in deep space, in a time machine spaceship thing and all they had to show for it was a memory that would soon be tucked away in their heads. The blue box that was smaller on the outside and the screeching noises it made when it left. The Doctor's head appeared again from inside

"I just realized why you lot can see the TARDIS when no one else can-unless you're really, really looking for it I suppose. Blimey, I am so slow sometimes! It's because your timelines have been altered! Cas told me about your vacations downstairs and Purgatory, and then it all just clicked. Clever, really. I should really be going now, eh? Right. Well. Bye."

The fast talking man wearing a bowtie frivolously waved his hand before disappearing into the TARDIS. Soon after it vanished with a humming whisper. Sam turned to face Cas and Dean who were still watching where the phone box was. He rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. Even though it was the same time as when they left, it still felt like they had been working a job all day and well through the night. Cas stretched with a faint sound of ruffled feathers that Sam could have sworn he heard. He knew Cas had wings, but he'd never really pictured it until now. He remembered everything that happened like he was still there in the TARDIS, but just the idea of it was so unreal it made him feel like he was making it all up in his head.

"Did we just have the craziest dream, or what?"

He looked up to see Dean thinking of something to say and raising his hand before giving up with a sigh. Dean slapped a firm hand on the angel's shoulder with a smirk and began the walk through the park towards the Impala.

"I need a drink. First round's on you."


End file.
